Senseless violence over trivial issues has become endemic: HC

Senseless violence over trivial issues has become “endemic”, the Delhi High Court has said as it expressed concern at the prospect of such tendencies “spilling” over to affect the general “populace” leading to “chaos and a state of anarchy”.

Justice Siddharth Mridul made the observation in his order for quashing of an FIR lodged for voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons against the students of an institute here, who entered into an altercation with another group during elections in an engineering college last October.

“Senseless violence over trivial or no issue at all has become endemic in Delhi. One can only shudder at the prospect of these violent tendencies spilling over to affect the general populace and leading to chaos and a state of anarchy,” the court observed.

It, however, ordered the setting aside of the proceedings against all the students, subject to each of them performing “Kar Sewa at Gurudwara” here “once a week on every Saturday for three hours” during evening “for a period of four weeks”.

“Head of the management of the said Gurudwara is requested to utilise the service of the petitioners in any manner he considers appropriate and furnish a certificate qua their conduct at the expiry of the four weeks,” the judge added.

‘Kar Sewa’ refers to selfless service, performed without any thought of reward or personal benefit.

The court’s order came on a plea by students of Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology here, who were named in the FIR lodged by a student of the same college, seeking quashing of the case on the ground that they have resolved the issue among themselves without any undue influence.

Advocate Amit Sahni, appearing for the accused, urged the court to quash the FIR, contending they all are “students and the subject FIR may blight their career prospects”.

On which the court observed that the students were present in court and they have expressed remorse over the incident and undertaken to maintain good behaviour henceforth.

In the back drop of an election to the student body of the institute and during the run-up to a cultural festival in the institution, an altercation took place on October 14, 2015 between the complainant of the FIR and the petitioners.

It was alleged that surgical blades were used by parties to attack each other.

On this the court remarked “the incident is evocative of the idiom that ‘politics is war by other means’ as well as the saying that ‘all is fair in love and war’.